Chuwi Is a Family First, a Band Second

Polina Moiseeva
17 minutes ago
3 min read

Most bands spend years learning how to become a family. Chuwi never had to. The Puerto Rican band grew up together, long before tours, stages and audiences entered the picture. That closeness still sits at the centre of everything they create: in the blunt honesty they bring to one another, in songs shaped by home and distance, and in a belief that community might be one of the few things powerful enough to hold us together.

In our conversation with Chuwi, we talk about growing up as a family, making music from lived experience, what it means to carry Puerto Rico with you, and why, in an increasingly divided world, they still believe community is stronger than anything pulling us apart.

CHUWI: We always say that we already had our worst fight ever and it was in childhood. It feels almost impossible that anything would be big enough to actually result in a fight. In that sense it truly has always been a blessing. We can be profoundly blunt with each other and there is no ego game involved. We trust profoundly in each others’ intentions. We feel like that’s why this works.

POLINA MOISEEVA: Growing up, what is one family value that still follows you everywhere? What's one thing your family gave you that no success or career could ever replace?

CHUWI: Empathy.

POLINA MOISEEVA: Your music often talks about Puerto Rico almost as if it's a person. What does "home" actually mean to you today?

CHUWI: This has become a complicated question to answer. Willy lived a couple of months in Texas and a lot of our lyrics come from that feeling of not being home. However

for the first time ever, we have mostly been away from home. In this last year we have grown so much and gotten to share our music with so many people. We did the entire DTMF residency, had 2 USA tours and opened DTMF tour in Latin America and Europe. We can’t wait to go home but we all know that home is different now. Honestly, ask us in 2 months and maybe we’ll have an answer.

POLINA MOISEEVA: Many people leave home looking for a better future. I left my country too, so I often think about what we actually take with us when we leave. How we can live somewhere else and still belong to the place we come from?

CHUWI: I think it’s something that happens naturally. It’s the act of always being genuine

to who you are and sometimes that translates well and sometimes not. But one

can only focus on feeling fulfilled.

POLINA MOISEEVA: I feel like in many cultures, growing up means creating a completely new life. But

listening to your music, I had the feeling that you don't leave your family behind, you carry them with you. Do you think that comes from having a loving family, or is it a choice that you have to make?

CHUWI: We grew up in close family spaces. Families with a lot of love to give. We have

already found our greatest love, so it just feels impossible to not bring them along.

POLINA MOISEEVA: When you're writing a new song, where do you usually look for inspiration? Is it in big moments or in the small everyday things, like sharing a meal with your family or hearing a story from your grandparents?

CHUWI: Usually when we are writing a song we look to our experiences in life. It can be as simple as a conversation with a friend or as complicated as the stress of having to pay rent and pay for the car debt at the end of the month. Sometimes it’s a though that we crave to find a conclusion or minimum to allow ourselves to explore the feeling. I guess it really depends on what we are analyzing at the moment.

POLINA MOISEEVA: With everything happening in the world today: wars, migration, political crises, people feel more divided than ever. What do you still believe is stronger than all of that?

CHUWI: We think community is stronger than that. We don’t know how this generation is going to save the world but we know that we are willing to try. We’ve been able to travel the world and the one consistent thing is community. In the real world people care about each other, they watch out for each other. If more people leaned into the togetherness of it all maybe we would change the world.